This year's crop of one of China's favorite fruits, the lychee, is likely to drop by as much as a quarter due to the severe winter weather earlier in the year.

Agriculture officials from around south China, the main lychee growing center, heard the news at a conference on lychee and longan production and marketing.

The conference in Qinzhou city, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, heard that only the province of Fujian was expected to see an increased harvest of the juicy tropical and subtropical fruit, up by 7,400 tons from last year to 118,000 tons.

However, Guangdong Province is expected to harvest 700,000 tons, a drop of 260,000 tons from last year; Guangxi 390,000 tons, down by 106,000 tons: while Hainan is expecting 50,000 tons, down by 30,000 tons.

The drastic fall in output was blamed on unfavorable conditions -- cold temperatures, prolonged precipitation and less sunlight -- in January and February, which adversely affected flowering of lychee trees.

(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2008)